Support American jobs this Thanksgiving weekend

By
Rachel Manteuffel

Now that the truly serious people have finished their holiday shopping and the weak have been trampled underfoot, the rest of us will start getting around to it.

If you're working like a normal person or staying in like a smart person today, it's safe to say it's worth some dollars to you to pick up gifts without getting your ribs broken or your name cursed by a hard-elbowed granny fierce. But if finding the absolute cheapest prices isn't your shopping ethic, you still need one. The holidays are when Americans part with most of their discretionary funds -- and if we're going to spend it, we should send it to companies that are hiring Americans. Here in Washington, we're lucky enough to see Help Wanted signs here and there, but companies all over are hiring in dribs and drabs. Hourly Careers compiled a list of companies hiring for the holidays, and CBS Moneywatch lists some. You can reward companies that have been hiring this year. Some of the recent hirers: Best Buy, Kohl's, UPS, Macy's, Target, Sears, JC Penney, AT&T, Kmart, Verizon, Toys R Us, Radio Shack, Nordstrom, and Fed Ex.

The best part is that these are some of the big-box, buncha-stuff retailers that you'd probably hit anyway and that are probably near you. The worst part is that the list is not particularly local or small-business-oriented. That's when the help-wanted signs or knowing someone who just got hired can really help -- or you can note in the comments smaller stores, businesses and restaurants that aren't sitting on their cash but betting on the economy where it counts.

While what you say is true, what those "big box" stores sell are mostly products made in other, low labor-cost countries. The sad fact is that American labor is competing with Chinese/Indian/Bangladeshi labor (this is the real meaning of the global economy).

The temporary holiday jobs carry no benefits other than the paycheck itself. And the probability of the job lasting past January are slim (temporary, remember?).

This is another "jobless recovery" (remember 2001?) and as our manufacturing base continues to disappear, the economy will have more and more difficulty recovering.

While the stock market may be showing signs of recovery, the stock market is just that - a marketplace; not the economy.

Hope this helps someone. My son came across this site careerfoo.com. Not fancy but effective. I don't work for them or anything like that. I signed up and in a few hours over the phone (which was nice for an older person like me) and email, I had a clean professional resume. $95 bucks was far less than others I found. They can upload profiles to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and job boards. I can call my career coach, get advice, update my resume, use other tools for a year. hope this helps someone. Its just so tough right now.

You can reward companies that have been hiring this year. Some of the "recent hirers": Best Buy, Kohl's, UPS, Macy's, Target, Sears, JC Penney, AT&T, Kmart, Verizon, Toys R Us, Radio Shack, Nordstrom, and Fed Ex.

Gee, let me get down to Best Buy and "thank them" for their benevolence in expanding the job market. It's Christmas, gzzzzz. Will Best Buy be on someone's "**** list" when they let people go after the Holidays?

Another comment........

.....what those "big box" stores sell are mostly products made in other, low labor-cost countries. Ty for that amazing statistic. Let's get all the jobs back in the good ole' USA. Johnny's Christmas Baseball mit will cost $100, but what the heck!

You can reward companies that have been hiring this year. Some of the "recent hirers": Best Buy, Kohl's, UPS, Macy's, Target, Sears, JC Penney, AT&T, Kmart, Verizon, Toys R Us, Radio Shack, Nordstrom, and Fed Ex.

Gee, let me get down to Best Buy and "thank them" for their benevolence in expanding the job market. It's Christmas, gzzzzz. Will Best Buy be on someone's "**** list" when they let people go after the Holidays?

Another comment........

.....what those "big box" stores sell are mostly products made in other, low labor-cost countries. Ty for that amazing statistic. Let's get all the jobs back in the good ole' USA. Johnny's Christmas Baseball mit will cost $100, but what the heck!

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